Chapter 1 (cont.)

[Pages 71-73]

Our Town Yurburg

By Simon Simonov

Translated from Yiddish by Yosef Rosin, Haifa, Israel
and Max Sherman-Krelitz, Mexico City

The town Yurburg (Jurbarkas in Lithuanian) on the shore of the
Neman river with its tributaries, the Mituva and the Imstra, is 100
km (62 miles) away from Kovno and 9 km (5 miles) away from
Smaleninken. Its long and wide streets were paved with stones and
there are concrete sidewalks on both sides. Forests and fields
surrounded Yurburg.

The Lithuanians had inherited a big and beautiful park, which had
belonged to the Russian Duke Vasilshchikov. In the middle of the park
sprawled a palace, surrounded by bushes and flowers. On both sides of
the palace beautiful buidings could be seen. These buildings housed
the state-supported high school attended by the Yurburg Lithuanian
(non-Jewish) youngsters and others from the vicinity. On Sunday
afternoons the Fire Brigade band would play dance music and the
public would have a pleasant time. Though most of the public were
members of the Shauliai (who were anti-semitic) nationalist
quasi-military organization, Jews also participated in the
entertainment, called in Lituanian "Geguzhines."

One nice day Lithuanians decided to forbid the Jewish youth from
participating in this entertainment. At the entrance of the park the
Lithuanian extremists erected a sign: "Entrance of Jews and dogs
is prohibited". This anti-semitic inscription was an insult to
the Jewish population. Immediately a committee was formed, and it was
decided to buy a nice garden with a big building. The garden was
converted into a park and the building housed the Hebrew gymnasuim
(high school) which served the Jewish population of Yurburg, Tavrig
and other towns along the Neman river. The Jewish park was named
"Tel-Aviv" in honor of the newly built town in Eretz-Yisrael. Jews
appreciated the park; which was close to town and together with the
high school the park formed an important cultural center. Every
Sunday entertainment, concerts and sport were organized in the park.

In the mid-1930s 3,000 Jews lived in Yurburg. The community was
concentrated in the center of the town. Lithuanians (non-Jews) lived
in the surrounding areas of the town, but the Catholic church stood
at the end of the Kovno street, the main street of the town. On
Shabbath and Jewish holidays all the businesses were closed. Jews of
Yurburg felt like they were living in a Jewish town, where Yiddish
and also occasionally Hebrew were heard spoken in the streets.

Mondays and Thursdays were market days in Yurburg. The plot of
land between the old wooden Synagogue and the solidly built [brick -
still standing in the 1990s - note added] Beth-Midrash served
as the market place for the Lithuanian peasants and the Jewish
population. The Lithuanian peasants would sell agricultural products
and the Jews would sell them haberdashery and other industrial goods.

The old wooden Synagogue, built in 1790, was famous in Lithuania
and all over the world for its artistic wood carvings of the
Aron-Ha Kodesh (sacred ark), the Bimah (pulpit) and the
Chair of Eliyahu. In Yurburg there were many learned men, doctors,
lawyers, bankers etc. Well known rabbis also came from Yurburg, the
last one was Avraham Dimant, a famous Rabbi, a Dayan
(religious judge) was Chaim-Reuven Rubinshtein. There was also a
cantor Alperovitz who would write tunes for the lithurgical melodies
for the Jewish High Holy Days.

In Yurburg there were two Jewish schools - the Yiddish school and
the Hebrew School. The town also boasted a Hebrew High School and two
libraries - The "Mendele" library (Yiddish books) and the "Brener"
(Hebrew books) Library.

Several youth organizations were formed in Yurburg- "HeKhalutz",
"Maccabi", Jewish Scouts - "HaShomer HaTsair," "Betar." Thanks to
"HeKhalutz" a large number of youth immigrated to Eretz-Yisrael.
Jewish political parties were active in town. The Jewish "Folksbank",
the "Commerce Bank" and social institutions like "Bikur Kholim" (Sick
Fund), "Hakhnasat Kala" (Fund for the Needy) and others were the
famous Jewish institutions of Yurburg.

Jews made their living from different sources. In Yurburg there
were steamship owners who employed a great number of staff. Other
popular occupations were exporters, merchants, hotels owners,
shopkeepers, artisans and workers.

*

When Hitler took over the rule in Germany it was immediately felt
in Yurburg. The Lithuanian Sauliai and other anti-Semites became
vocal. For many Jews it became difficult to make a living. Life was
becoming harder with evey passing day, and for young people the
future became doubtful. Some of the youth went to Eretz-Yisrael or
abroad and others left for Kovno.

On June 22, 1941, at five o'clock in the morning, parts of the
Nazi-German army invaded Yurburg. Dark clouds enveloped the future of
the Jewish population. Only a couple of the Jews survived, and the
entire community perished. In the first "action" 350 men were
murdered, among them 40 Lithuanian communists. The remaining men,
women and children of the Jewish population were murdered and buried
in a forest near Smaleninken.[note added: Many of the murderers were
the Lithuanians themselves.]

In 1945 Yurburg was freed from the murderers, but unfortunately no
Jews were left in YurburgÉonly pain remained in our hearts forever.

[Pages 74-78]

Once There Was A Shtetl

By Motl (Mordechai) Zilber

Translated from Yiddish by Yosef Rosin, Haifa,
Israel

English Editied by Fania Hillelson Jivotovsky,
Montreal, Canada

I am beginning my writing the same way my late father would start
a story when I was a child "once upon a time there was ..."

This is a story that sounds like a dream.

Forty years have passed since I left Yurberik and I still see it
in my eyes as if it was yesterday. I have traveled the world - Russia
and France, Canada and USA and now- Israel, but I could never forget
Yurberik, it has always been in my heart. Yurberik has always
remained in the hearts of all the Yurberikers who were scattered all
over the world.

I often think about Yurberik, I see it in my fantasies where I
visit Yurberik often. I meet with the people, my friends and I recall
events. I visit places and forget that Yurberik was in ashes after
the Nazis and the Lithuanians burned down the town; I forget that the
people of the town were taken by force and murdered. I want to forget
all thatÉI go back to the past, when Yurberik was alive and we were
happyÉ

I see the town as I open the iron gates of Duke Vasilshchikov's
park. The park is fenced in with a stone wall. The entrance is
through an iron gate between three thick brick pillars. In front I
see the ruins of the Duke's palace. The palace sprawls near the
Mituva river and on the other side, in the forest near the meadow
there still is a wooden mushroom, its cap is red, its stem is white
and it is covered with many inscriptions of couples in love. The duke
built it, apparently, as to protect couples from rain.

The duke would come here only in summer months, and nobody would
be allowed to walk near the palace, except outside the property .
There were two other buildings - both for the servants. Later the
buildings would house the Lithuanian high school. The duke had
everything he wished for his comfort - a greenhouse covered with
glass, stables, workrooms and a beer brewery outside Yurberik.

The legend goes that one of the duke's ancestors was the lover of
Queen Katharine II, like brothers Orlovs and others, after the love
became cooler, she would "exile" her lovers, endow them with estates
at the borders of the great Russian Empire. Our duke Vasilshchikov
was one of those who were "exiled" to our town of Yurberik.

Before we leave the park we will see a small Pravoslavic church.
It is a small church built for the duke and his family and for the
servants. People said that the big stone in front was a meteorite, a
body that fell from the sky.

Now we are going back. On the right side of the building there are
the two movie theaters of Yurberik. On the screen of the movie
theaters we saw the films of Emil Janings, Marlene Dietrich, Konrad
Vaidt, Paula Negri and sometimes performances of Ivan Mazhukhin.

The house of the Altmans was next to the movie theater. This was
the house of the diva of Yurberik, Fanichka Altman. With her
excellent voice she made her listeners fall in love with her.

And here is the Imstra, a small creek flowing into the Mituva and
then into the Neman. In summer a hen could cross the creek without
wetting "hens feet", but in spring when the Neman was full of ice
tide would flood the areas around. Then in this part of the town
people would use boats, like in Venice. Even the priests garden was
flooded.

Let us look at the side lane which leads to the park. The house of
the Levinsons is there and on the porch two boys are waiting- they
are Tony and Izzy Levinson (now in South Africa). They are waiting
for their father who works in the "Taryba" (Town Council). On the
left there is a narrow lane along the Imstra leading to Rassein
street. It passes along the priest's garden and house. A small wooden
bridge crosses the Imstra. It is so good to stand on the bridge and
look at the small fish in the waters of the Imstra. Tailor Chertok
lives near the bridge, he suffers greatly from the floods .

The road right of the bridge leads to the Mituva where the
steamships are mooring before winter comes.

Our way leads us to the Kovno street, past a church fenced by a
stone wall. The church has two high towers and looks like a big
fortress. It is a praying house for the entire community. The rural
population gathers here. When someone dies the body is brought to the
church and photographer [Natan] Abramson takes the last picture. The
same happens when there is a wedding.

The rural community of Yurberik is considered rich. It was said
that the Jewish population of Yurberik participated in financing the
construction of the church with the calculation that it will increase
the living opportunities of the town.

In front of the church, to the right, a road leads to the Neman
River. If you have time, let us wait for a steamship coming from
Kovno in the afternoon - may be it is the staemship "Laisve", or the
"Lietuva" or may be the "Kestutis".

Afterwards it will be announced who arrived. 20 people and 3
Germans, they would say. Like Germans could not be counted among
people.

The road leads us through the Kovno street; opposite the church we
see the house of the Leipzigers . Eliezer Leipziger, was a very
talented person, a lawyer and later the director of the Hebrew high
school. . He married Fani Krechmer. At the end he and his wife were
murdered by the bloody animals. This was also the house of Freidale
Leipziger, today a teacher in Kibbutz Afikim.

Over there is the house of the "Minzers," a fine Jewish family,
with two beautiful daughters and one son who immigrated to Cuba. He
is a tailor and I unfortunately forgot his name.

And then there is the second movie theater of Yurberik. Films are
shown by Pola Skeltz and an older woman. Skeltz has several trades
but makes a poor living. He plays music at Jewish weddings, he
catches fish. When he plays at a Jewish wedding, he would play a
"Krakowiak". He is an ardent Polish patriot and when he plays the
"Krakowiak" he becomes very exited, sings in a high pitched voice and
stomps with his feet. After the movie is over he goes to the boarding
house at the Feinberg's . An old bachelor who, people say, plays the
violin in the middle of the night when nobody hears. I never saw
anybody coming to his boarding house.

And here is the green house of the Aizenshtats, the brothers
Aizenshtat. They were considered the "elite" of the town. Liova died
young from Typhus. He was married with Betty Yazelit. A sister, Leana
Aizenshtat, lives in Canada. Opposite the Aizenshatats is the great
yard of the Feinbergs. They are four brothers and one sister. They
are considered the rich people in town. They own a sawmill, a flour
mill and the power station. We get electricity from 6 o'clock PM
until 12 o'clock midnight. Before the power is switched off we hear a
warning to the public: "Here, we are getting off..."

One of the Feinberg brothers, Meir, is in arts, he declaimed very
good in Russian and we enjoyed not once his declamations.

It's a pity that we didn't receive the end of his
descriptions...Motl (Mordekhai) passed away...all his friends and
relatives will never forget him .

[Pages 79-81]

The Beautiful Town Yurburg

By Ben Dvorah

( from the periodical "Funken")

Translated from Yiddish by Yosef Rosin, Haifa,
Israel

English Editied by Fania Hillelson Jivotovsky,
Montreal, Canada

Several kilometers before reaching Yurburg you can immediately
feel the ambiance of Western Europe. The fields are more intensly
cultivated and exploited. The behavior of the rural population is
more cultural. The German border is already close and its smells
German

Yurburg makes a nice impression. Wide streets, many quite nice
buildings, nice shops with pretty shopwindows are adding to the
impression of a big town. Also the landscape of Yurburg is pretty. On
one side - the Neman river and on the other side - the sportive
Imstra, flooding the whole area and causing much damage, when the ice
in the Neman starts moving. This pleasing geographic situation helps
the Yurburg population to make its living. The forests serve as
recreation and rest areas. Its obvious why the Health Department has
established in town one of its two centers and hospitals for
respiratory desease. The marvelous park, that once belonged to the
Russian duke Vasilshchikov adds to the beauty of Yurburg. The
backbone of the economic life of Yurburg is the Neman River. Many
Jewish families make their living from this big river. When the
favorite summer season comes life around Neman becomes intense. The
several tens of steamships, belonging to Yurburg citizens, sail
without pause upstream and downstream the Neman River.

Rafts are floating by and the oarsmen buy their necessities here.
Carts, harnessed with strong horses, are going to and from the river
bank carrying stones, timber and other goods brought by the
steamships.

Tens of meters of fish nets are put in the water by fishermen,
whose life is strongly linked with the Neman. The Neman is the very
life source and the pride of Yurburg Jews.

The population of Yurburg is mixed. In addition to Lithuanians and
Jews, there are large German and Russian colonies. They all have
their priests, their churches and schools. For some time the mayor of
Yurburg was a German. Yurburg is a clean and relaxed town. All state,
municipal and Jewish institutions have suitable and more or less
convenient offices. All Jewish schools in bigger towns than Yurburg
could only wish to have such facilities like the Hebrew and the
Yiddish schools here. The Hebrew high school has its own building
with a big and beautiful park named "Tel-Aviv", where all the
entertainment takes place.

Though the economic crisis has affected Yurburg as well, but it
seems that the Jews don't loose hope for better days to come.

Yurburg is proud of its beautiful Beth-Midrash, but in particular
they cherish their really interesting old synagogue. The Aron-Kodesh
of the synagogue is a rare object of art in wood carving. Also the
Bimah is beautiful. The blind Shamash of the synagogue complained to
me that the Bimah was carved by another artist, who was jealous of
the person who built the Aron-Kodesh and for that he concealed the
Aron-Kodesh with the Bimah

The older generation of Yurburg has special sense of self-esteem.
They are classic-nicely dressed folks, with felt hats and dark gray
summer coats as they come on holidays to the synagogue. Yurburg has a
large number of students, boys and girls, who are studying in Kovno
and many others abroad.

Yurburg was never looking for public and political activity, for
that it got a Jewish-democratic Kehilah (Community Committee) late.
In Yurburg there are no extremists. The Zionists, the orthodox and
the Yiddishists don't make much noise. Its characteristic for Yurburg
to have a Gabbai of the old synagogue Alter Shimonov who also happens
to be the dentist, a man with a modern outlook and manners, a
sympathizer of Zionism, who goes to the Beth Midrash on Shabbat and
every morning put on phylacteries and would not eat dinner before a
"ma'ariv" prayer. On Friday evening you can see the wife of the
dentist lighting candles. On the other side we can see an important
personality living in Yurburg with a woman whom he married in a civil
wedding.

The relations between the Jews and Lithuanians in Yurburg are
generally friendly. The Jews and the Lithuanians are proud of the
fact that Yurburg gave Lithuania several famous personalities. Jews
of Yurburg became reknown scientists, writers, artists and
philanthropists and Lithuanians became such stately people as
professor Tamashaitis, consul Sidrauskas, prosecutor Bila, lawyer and
public worker Taliushis.

Many projects were planned to improve the economic situation of
Yurburg , such as pavement of new roads, improvement of
transportation and other projects that promised a better future.

But all these were pleasant dreams. For the Jews the future would
be bitter. During three months-in the summer 1941-the Jewish Yurburg
was annihilated by Nazi-German soldiers with the active help of cruel
Lithuanians with whom Jews lived together for generations and where
Jews established their homes on Lithuanian soil.

[Pages 82-84]

Yurburg under Water

Adapted by Z. Poran

Translated from Yiddish by Yosef Rosin, Haifa,
Israel

English edited by Sarah and Mordekhai Kopfstein,
Haifa, Israel

On Wednesday, the 17th of March 1937, at 1 pm, the section of the
Neman river adjacent to Yurburg awoke from its winter sleep. As
happens each year, so this year too, curious people gather on the
banks of the Neman, happy to see the ice move and hoping that by
Pesach a steamship will already sail on the river. The Neman flows at
such speed that you can hear the ice blocks crashing. And so,
standing there in circles and debating the subjects of ice, water,
floods, they suddenly look back and see that the water is already
creeping up behind them.

The flow continues relentlessly at full speed up to a blockage
near Smaleninken, as a result of which the water level in Yurburg
rises more and more. At 5 P.M. the municipal siren wails for help.

People start to run, all curious to see how the water is rushing
into the town. Police, firemen and all citizens are on duty to fight
the intruding water

Slowly the market is flooded and water is even flowing into Kovno
street. At first the flow is slow, but then it increases in strength
and volume.

Yatkever (Butcher) street begins to flood - a howl, a yell: "Help!
Rescue! We are inundated!" Mothers with sleeping children in their
hands call for a boat to take them to a dry patch, panic is great.

A Jewish woman stands in the water, her hair disheveled,
complaining to her neighbors that her stove, which had been renovated
just a year ago, is now disintegrating, and in another woman's flat
the table and chairs are swimming.

Lots of people congregate in Kovno street, half of which is
already flooded. It is now late evening, electric lights are on,
small boats sailing to and for. People are walking on the still-dry
sidewalks, but for the young this is entertainment, just like Venice!

Nobody is thinking of going to bed. The time is already 1 am, 2
am, 3 am, and the water is still slowly flooding more and more areas.

The shop owners of Kovno street decide to move goods from lower
shelves to the upper ones, thus packages of goods, appliances,
cigarettes and textiles are lifted up. Some put the goods on chairs
in order to have them at least a few inches above the surface of the
water. People are standing on sidewalks about to be flooded and wait,
maybe God will show mercy -

On the other side of Kovno street the situation is also bad. Here
is a boat with bedding, there one evacuating children and old people
from dangerous places, someone is running with a package on his
shoulders, and someone else with a table. Policemen are patrolling
the streets, helping victims and guarding against looting. It is
already 7 am in the morning and the water level is still rising. The
"padriads" (special bakeries for Matzah baking) ought to be baking
Matzos for Pesach, which is already imminent. What can be done?
Peasants are coming to the market and stop, they are scared. The
market place is inundated.

Jews are standing around, worried and waiting for a miracle.
Waiting and waiting - and suddenly - a miracle! The water starts to
recede. Yurburg citizens lift their heads and smile - but most of
them immediately feel the painful aftermath and cry silently. What
will be? What will be? A help committee is set up immediately, but
the damage is great. Can the committee manage to relieve the damage?

The situation is bad. But during all previous years of flooding
people get over it and this year too they will recover and start
again. True, the damage is great. May be the committee will be able
to help. We must hope - because it is forbidden to lose hope!

[Page 84]

Flood in the Shtetl

[Pages 85-87]

The Town Jurbarkas

Translated from Yiddish by Yosef Rosin, Haifa, Israel

English edited by Fania Hilelson Jivotovsky, Montreal, Canada

The article "The town of
Jurbarkas" was published in the Yiddish daily newspaper
"Folksblat" on July 16, 1939, in the days of the deep
crisis for Lithuanian Jews just before the outbreak of World
War II. The anonymous author of this article, as it seems from
its content, was one of the supporters of the Yiddishist
anti-Zionist circles, as he criticizes the Jewish youth who are
getting Zionist education, and are interested only in
"Hakhsharah" (preparation for moving to Palestine) and
certificates for Aliyah. The author is disappointed that these
Jews are not concerned with strengthening the (local)
"existence "---what "existence " in the Diaspora.

The town Yurburg is located in
Raseiniai district. It has long, beautiful, wide streets, with
concrete sidewalks on both sides, nice houses; some of them built
in brick. It is getting more modern and spread out. A new quarter
of the town was built, and it is called the New Town- reaching
villages nearby. In the New Town a park was planted, where a
monument for Vytautas the Great was built. Near the park you can
see the Yurburg stadium. In the old-town, as we call it now, the
old buildings are being demolished.

This difficult situation affects the
poor and they are becoming weaker. Some will not have a place to
live because the rents are becoming higher and there are no
opportunities to earn a living in Yurburg. They used to live in
small affordable houses but Yurburg is becoming more modern but
not through private undertakings. The builders are the state and
the municipality.

The municipality built a
slaughterhouse and is maintaining the streets. The government
built a second floor for the Yurburg Lung Sanitarium. This was the
only Sanitarium in Yurburg. A road was also constructed several
kilometers long joining Klaipeda and Jurbarkas. Two concrete
bridges were built over the rivers of "Imstra" and
"Mituva".

The government also intends to build
a harbor for the steamships.

Yurburg is like a valley between
high mountains. Around Yurburg there are big areas with splendid
forests and fields with hills and valleys. There are two parks -
one is the Jewish park named "Tel-Aviv" where trees and their
branches look like in a dream, inviting passers-by to enter and
smell their pleasant odors. The second park is the Lithuanian
Park, well maintained and in a continuous process of maintenance.
Once it belonged to a Russian duke, today it belongs to the
Lithuanian high school. The park has tens of paths, one very small
leading to the Mituva, which is winding between the park and the
forest. One big path leads to a place behind the park where you
can see all the Yurburg surroundings.

The third river is the Neman running
along the shores of the town. The steamship traffic connects
Yurburg with the economic and political center of Kaunas.

When a newcomer arrives to Yurburg
he is impressed with the beautiful nature around town. The town is
home for 6,000 people, 2,000 Jews among them from different social
classes: merchants, artisans, and shopkeepers. The town is facing
an economic decline it has been affected by the big world crisis,
and by the persistent phenomenon of Hitler politics which slows
trade with Germany.

Although Yurburg does not compare
with other towns, there are people here too who learnedto hate.
These are the so-called Lithuanian patriots who consider only
their own pockets. They have their own shops and call for boycott
of the Jewish business.

Often we can hear anti-Semitic
slogans not only from the simple folks but more from the youth and
the "Intelligencia".

The only institution watching over
the Jewish economic situation is the Folksbank, which gives out
loans. But how can the loans help when there is nowhere to use the
money? From the cultural standpoint our town is better off than
the adjacent towns. It has a state high school, 4 elementary
schools, (2 Lithuanian schools, 1 Hebrew School and 1 Yiddish
School), a Hebrew high school, a Lithuanian agricultural school, 2
libraries named after Mendele and Brenner.

Jewish children don't go to either
the Lithuanian high school or the elementary school. Most of them
attend meetings of "HeKhalutz" and "Betar". They care only about
"Hakhsharah" and certificates, but not about the local Jewish
Community.

We also have an advantage of having
the famous Lithuanian sculptor H.Gribas live in the area, his
monuments can be seen in many cities and towns of Lithuania.
Yurburg citizens are proud of their town and are proud to show
their town to visitors.

The first object of pride a
Yurburger could show a newcomer is the ancient synagogue built in
1790 with its rare fixtures. The second object is the atelier of
the sculptor Gribas with its marvelous artistic works. The third
thing to show would be the beauty of nature [in and surrounding
the town].

There is a cinema in town with
occasional shows of nice films. It still belongs to Jews. There is
little industry in town. Nonetheless, there is a small furniture
factory which was awarded a medal at an exhibition abroad and a
flourmill with a power station.

The economic and social situation of
our town is very sad, but let us not be depressed. One hour before
dawn it becomes very dark and there is a struggle between darkness
and light where the light becomes the winner.

[Pages 88 - 113]

Yurburg Under the Soviet Regime

(From the Lithuanian Encyclopedia)

Translated into Hebrew by S. Simonov

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

(Note added by Joel Alpert: During this period there were
either no Jews or at most two Jewish families in Yurburg)

The town of Yurburg in the Soviet republic of Lithuania is
surrounded by the Neman and Mituva rivers.

The town is 12 kms. (7 miles) away from the borders of the
Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg) district.

In 1959 - 4,422 inhabitants - situated on the right side of the
Neman on a low and sandy place. The area was 413 hectars.

Yurburg's old city was established close to the shore of the
Neman. The buildings in the center of town were built in the Gothic
style. The streets of the new town were well planned. The main part
of town was built on the left side of the Mituva; the small Imstra
river crossed it in part. Development was started on the right side
of the during the years of the Soviet regime.

The shore of the Neman includes a strip of soft sand over 1 km.
Not far from the town - the Smalinikai forest - and the large Wasvile
(Vashvile). In the southern part of town there is a large factory for
processing linen seeds (established in 1950).

[The town contained] a boat dock, the base of the Ministry of
Transport, a butter factory (established in 1931), a saw mill,
carpentry workshops, factories for production of blocks and tiles, a
flour mill, bakery and the Neman fisherman's harbor.

Now roads connect Yurburg to Kaunas (Kovna) and Klaipeda (Memel).
Roads lead to Raseiniai (Rasein) and Skaudvile (Shkudvil). A ferry
crosses the Neman from Yurburg to the other side of the river and
from there to Shaki. Steamships sail to Kaunas and Klaipeda.

Most streets are covered in asphalt - where transport is is
provided by buses. On the site of the market, the entire center of
town is presently covered in green.

On both sides of the Mituva is the park of the former Kniaz, from
the 19th century. In 1950 a memorial statue was set up here to honor
sculptor I.Grivas. At the end of the park is a cemetery for those who
fell in the battles of World War II. There is a 100-beds hospital in
town, built before World War I, and a hospital for tuberculosis
patients. There is a 30-beds maternity ward at the hospital.

Culture and education - As early as in the 18th century a high
school was established in town. In 1924-27 a pro-gymnasium existed in
Yurburg - "Saule" (Sun) and from 1931 a national gymnasium. There is
also an evening school for high school education (1946-53 - pro
gymnasium), a kindergarten for children, in 1947 a cultural center
was set up, a cinema and 300-seats theater. A museum in memory of
I.Grivas was established in 1956. From 1963 there is a regional
newspaper called "Sviesa" (Schviessa) ("Light") in town. Before that
there was a newspaper called the "Flag" (1949-62).

In the northern part of town was the "Bishpil"(?) mountain,
crossed by the Imstra, creating a deep valley. On top of the mountain
was a look-out post from which the 5 m. (17 feet) high wall of the
old castle could be seen. At the observation post remnants of an
ancient culture could be seen. In excavations various archeological
findings were uncovered, such as ceramic utensils, bows and arrows
and other articles from the 12th and 14th century. Some of them were
transferred to the history museum in Kaunas. On the shore of the
Neman, 3 kms. (2 miles) from the mouth of the Mituva - there were 2
small hills called "Bishpiliokais", from which there was a good view
of the surroundings. It is thought that the Georgenburg (Yurenburg)
fortress stood on these hills, mentioned in the German chronicles and
used as one of the ancient crusader fortresses along the Neman.

In 1259 or close to this year, the "Bishpil" mountain was
established by the Lithuanians. In 1260 the Lithuanians led by Dorbas
attacked the crusaders who retreated from Georgenburg.

In 1353 the crusaders returned and took over the fortress again.
Battles continued here almost until the 15th century. In early 1403
the fortress was set on fire by Vytautas' army.

After the Zalgiris battle, where the crusaders were defeated, the
place lost its strategic value. When the crusaders retreated the
place called Yurburg started to develop as a permanent settlement.

In 1422 when the borders of Lithuania were determined, Yurburg
turned into a border point. In the first half of the 15th century a
customs post was set up here as it was an important commercial point,
and also because of the Neman river, which was a passageway for goods
from Kovna to Tilzit, Memel (Klaipda) and Koenigsberg.

The town started to grow quickly and mainly gained its commercial
importance since the 16th century, when trees started to be harvested
from in the surrounding forests for transport to Gdansk and
Koenigsberg where boats were built.

In 1557 the first primary school was established. In 1611 the
Mandenburg Law was accepted in Yurburg and already then it had 3000
inhabitants. Yurburg maintained its status as a commercial center
till the 19th century. Already in 1862 goods passed through customs
in Yurburg in the sum of about 10 million rubles. In those days
railway tracks started to be laid and this affected Yurburg's
importance as a commercial center.

In 1864 there were 320 families in Yurburg with 2659 inhabitants;
in 1880 3000; in 1901 Yurburg served as a "transit station" for the
"Iskra" underground newspaper edited by Y. Lenin, which was sent from
Germany to Kovna. In 1906 a large part of the town burnt down. In
1915 the German army destroyed the town which at that time already
had the status of district town. In 1923 there were 4409 inhabitants
in Yurburg.

Small factories started to be established in town, such as a flour
mill and windmill which supplied electricity, a saw mill and dairy.
The branch of the Lithuanian bank was opened and the agricultural
bank, in addition to small private and public banks (*).

Trade stores were also opened, a hospital, schools, a library,
orphanages and a home for the elderly. In 1928-33 illegal material of
the Communist party continued to be transferred through Yurburg from
Germany to Kovna.

In the period of the conservative regime rightist parties were
active in Lithuania as well as the Communist party L.K.P.-L.K.J.S. A
branch of the Red Cross was also active in town. From 1929 the
sculptor I. Grivas lived and worked in Yurburg. He was murdered by
the German conquerors in 1941 together with another 350 inhabitants
(Jews) of Yurburg. During World War II Soviet soldiers fought heroic
battles against the German fascists, such as Prolov, S.Sergejev,
I.Tolstikov. They received the "Hero of the Soviet Union" medal.
After World War II the town was rebuilt, its main streets were
expanded. Many houses were built, public institutions set up, among
them a new high school (1960) and a cinema - a new theater (1960).
Yurburg lies on both sides of the road leading to Klaipda (Memel).

(*) Editor's note - At that time the Jewish Volks
Bank was also set up in Yurburg which served the Jewish population.
According to Holocaust survivors who visited Yurburg in recent years
the town developed at a fast pace, but there are hardly any Jews. One
family lives in Yurburg (?) which returned to settle there, the last
remnant of the lively Jewish center which existed and is no more.

Unfortunately, there is no mention in the encyclopedia of the
bitter fact that in 1941 when the Nazis entered Yurburg - in June,
July, August and September - over 2000 defenseless Jews were brutally
murdered, men, women children and old people; with the active
assistance of the fascist Lithuanian murderers who had been the Jews'
neighbors for hundreds of years and had built and developed the town
together and finally - as a reward for what they had done - the Jews
were murdered without mercy.

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